My only glimpse at the "old life" comes from watching Airline Pilot on youtube, that film about VC-10 trainees... things seemed so much more personal then, especially the training. It was like another universe, however it was 1968....
I am not sure of the VC-10 training captains name now (I did look it up I was that enthralled), although I recall he was a WWII hero with a few gongs, but I'll never forget the way he came across, a true gentleman with considerable charm, deeply impressed me, even on film nearly fifty years later.